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The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (Stage show)
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz was a musical stage production based on the book of the same name by L. Frank Baum. It opened at the Grand Opera House in Chicago on 16 June 1902, and moved to Broadway early in 1903. It was produced by Fred R. Hamlin and directed by Julian Mitchell, with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum, music by Paul Tietjens, and with scenery, costumes, and special effects designed by W. W. Denslow. Additional costumes for the show were designed by Caroline Siedle. The stage version of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz was one of the most successful American stage extravaganzas of the early twentieth century, and it differed quite a bit from the book about the magic and wonder of a child's world of fantasy, and was aimed primarily at adults. Jokes in the script called for explicit references to President Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Mark Hanna, and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. The stage version starred David C. Montgomery and Fred Stone as the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow respectively, which shot the pair to instant fame. After fourteen weeks in Chicago, the show toured the West and Canada, then moved to New York. It ran at the Majestic Theater on Broadway for 293 stage nights from January to October 1903. It returned to Broadway in 1904, where it played from March to May and again from November to December. It successfully toured the United States with much of the same cast, as was done in those days, until 1911, and then became available for amateur use. About it Dorothy Gale lives on a farm in Kansas with a farmer and many farm hands and farm maids. One day, whilst Dorothy is playing with her pet cow Imogene, a golfer flirts outrageously with a maid. Things are broken up by a furious cyclone. Dorothy and Imogene take shelter in the farmhouse, which is whisked away into the sky. The action shifts to the land of Oz, where the munchkins dance around their maypole. Suddenly the cyclone strikes there and the lights go down. When the lights have returned again, Dorothy's house has fallen to earth intact and unharmed, and the house has accidentally killed the wicked witch of the east. The munchkin maiden Cynthia Cynch enters. The munchkins accuse Cynthia of being a witch and causing the storm but she is rescued by the good witch of the north, who tells them that it was an ordinary storm. Cynthia explains she once worked in one of Oz's largest department store, but she is now insane because of the disappearance of her lover, Niccolo Chopper. She sings "Niccolo's Piccolo", her lover's favorite ballad. Soon the poet of Oz, Dashemoff Daily, enters. He declares that the rightful king of Oz, Pastoria, has been swept into Oz via the cyclone and is on his way to the emerald city to claim the throne. Dorothy exits the house and marvels at the strange land. Dashemoff has written a song for her, thinking her name is Caroline Barry. He is disappointed when Dorothy disproves the fact. The good witch awards Dorothy with a magic ring, good for three wishes and can summon the good witch at any time. Dorothy wishes she knew the word to Dashemoff's song and accidentally wastes the first wish. She sings the song, "Carrie Barry". Soon Pastoria enters, flanked by General Riskitt, his girlfriend Tryxie Tryfle and the one-man Army of Pastoria. He is scalping tickets for his coronation, in order to finance his revolution. He was lost in Kansas many years ago and began working as a mechanic. He sings "In Michigan", about his favorite U.S. state. The good witch tells Dorothy that if she wants to get home, she must ask the wizard of Oz to help her. After a while, everyone exits and Dorothy is left alone with a scarecrow, hung on a pole. She wishes she had someone to talk to, and unwittingly wastes another wish on the wishing ring: the scarecrow comes to life. He gets down off his pole and complains that he has no brain. Dorothy suggests that she join him on the road to the emerald city and he sings "Alas For The Man Without Brains". Pastoria and company have a run-in with the cowardly lion. They capture the lion and disguise themselves as a traveling circus, pretending the lion is part of their act. Dorothy and the scarecrow, meanwhile, are on their way to the emerald city. They come upon the tin woodman, who has rusted playing his piccolo. As it turns out, the woodman's real name is Niccolo Chopper and he is in fact Cynthia's lost lover. He sings "When You Love! Love! Love!" and explains how he has no heart, so cannot love Cynthia. He joins the others in the hope of receiving one from the wizard, and return to Cynthia. Dorothy, the scarecrow and tin woodman, Pastoria, the cowardly lion and others and Dashemoff Daily all meet in a life-sized poppy field. The opium in the poppies makes all of them fall asleep, except the scarecrow and tin woodman, who cannot smell anything. A thick snow rains down and kills the poppies. The scarecrow and tin woodman look on in awe as the snow queen and her snow children all appear in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. The snow children get out and lift the sleeping characters up and put them in the sleigh as they ride off into the snow toward the emerald city. The guardian patrols outside the gates of the emerald city. The sleigh carrying all the main characters appears. Dorothy, Pastoria, Dashemoff, and the others are now awake. Sir Wiley Gyle enters. He is a mad old inventor who scorns all magic. He is soon captured and sent to the emerald city dungeon. So, the travelers all enter the emerald city. In the courtyard of the emerald city, the phantom patrol greets the travelers. The patrol disappears and reappears, and soon leaves for good. Cynthia returns and asks Pastoria if he is her Niccolo. When he says no, she becomes furious. The wizard's wise men, led by Bardo, enter and introduce the wizard himself. He performs magic tricks to entertain the crowd and sings the song "Mr. Dooley". The distraught Cynthia asks the wizard if he is her Niccolo, and is further outraged when he says no. She exits. Dorothy, the scarecrow and tin woodman come forward and request their desires. The wizard gives the scarecrow a brain of the Mark Hanna variety and the tin woodman a heart. He declares this the greatest of all his achievements and calls for a celebration. The ball of all nations is thrown, in which anywhere up to twelve songs are song by various characters. The wizard performs a basket trick in which Pastoria is the mark. In the middle of the trick he claims his right to the throne and overthrows the wizard. A great commotion breaks out with the wizard escaping in a hot air balloon. Dorothy, still longing for home, sets off with her companions to the castle of Glinda the good witch of the south. Dorothy and her friends arrive at the palace and are welcomed. There are great celebrations, with Glinda promising to send Dorothy home. Trivia This play introduced Dorothy's last name Gale which Baum used in later books Dorothy's pet dog Toto became and was replaced with her pet cow Imogene This musical added new characters to the story: Tryxie Tryfle (a waitress) and Pastoria (a streetcar operator) who were added as fellow cyclone victims, Cynthia Cynch (a woman who was a prototype for Nimmie Amee), Sir Dashemoff Daily the poet laureate; Sir Wiley Gyle, and General Riskitt There is no wicked witch of the west, as she was eliminated entirely in the script The silver shoes are replaced by a ring The scarecrow makes a political joke, since he is stuffed with hay, as he thinks might be related to the U.S. Secretary of State John Hay The name Niccolo Chopper was later used in the book The Tin Woodman Of Oz Many musical numbers that had nothing to do with the plot were thrown in The cowardly lion's part was greatly reduced and he couldn't talk Category:Stage shows Category:The Wizard Of Oz